Miami Heat Step It Up; Li Na Named a Legend

The Miami Heat stepped it up with a 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, taking a 2-1 lead and stealing back the home-court advantage.

Though he performed less than optimally during the first two games of the series, Chris Bosh regained his momentum and helped Miami with a 16-foot jump shot with less than 40 seconds left to the game. Dirk Nowitzki, who had led his team to recover from a seven-point deficit, missed an 18-footer at the buzzer.

“I’ve been here before,” he said. “My team mates said they wanted me to get the ball. Last game we kind of went away from getting the ball down the stretch in spots where they have to double or I can get a shot off. Tonight I tried to be aggressive. I didn’t shoot every time, I passed out to my team mates. This is a total win. We wanted to win the game on the defensive end of the floor and it came down to getting a stop (on Nowitzki).”

Meanwhile

China’s media has said that Lil Na’s French Open victory was truly miraculous. Being the first Asian to win the grand slam singles, Li Na has been elevated to legendary status; in China, athletic accomplishments and national glory are dramatically intertwined.

“The girl from Hubei, Li Na, at the birthplace of the sport, has opened a new era in tennis for China and all of Asia,” wrote a front page story in the People’s Daily, its headlines stating that Li “bravely seized” the French title, as well as wrote “an Asian legend.”

The China Daily explained that Li showed an “all-conquering maturity” during the match.

Li is now a role model for many in China. A computer programmer from Beiking said, “It’s a great honor, for her and the country. It will do a lot to help China break into the tennis world, which has for so long been dominated by Europe.”